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East Hampton Town Denies Permission To Shoot 'Summer House' At Napeague Home

The Town of East Hampton has officially said “no” to the Bravo network’s reality show of rowdy rich kids invading for another summer.

According to Harold Graham of the town clerk’s office, the film crew for the Bravo reality series “Summer House” has been denied permission to shoot a second season of episodes at a private residence on Napeague Harbor Road in Napeague.

According to the letter sent on May 10 to Carol Klein, vice president of production for Truly Original productions, the denial was issued because using the Napeague residence to film for “a commercial operation” would violate the town zoning code. Also, the residence would be used to house more than four people who are not related—which further violates the code.

The letter also noted that the cast’s occupancy of the house last year for filming violated the town’s rental registry code.

Ms. Klein could not be reached for comment on Friday.

The show caused a stir among local residents with its premise of nine New York City yuppies spending their summer in a luxurious “Montauk” residence—actually a bit farther west—drinking and having sex and repeating the cycle.

This is not the first time town officials have denied the crew permission to film—they declined to allow the crew to shoot scenes at public locations such as Kirk Park Beach in Montauk last year, citing concerns about crowds and public safety.

Bravo went on to green-light the show for a second season earlier this month, disappointing Montauk residents and town officials who have been striving to restore the hamlet’s reputation as a family-friendly vacation spot rather than a “Jersey Shore”-style party destination.

“The Montauk Chamber of Commerce and the Montauk community was not happy with the show and the behavior it depicted,” Paul Monte, executive director of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce, said on Friday. “When we heard about the town’s decision, we were very happy about it.”

Mr. Graham said that the film company had submitted only the application to film at the rented house and had not yet responded to the letter of denial.

I agree with you that shows like The Affair or movie shoots are a huge hassle, especially if you live near where they are shooting - my mother in law has a house in Amagansett near where The Affair "house" is.

On the other hand, if the shoot is short - a week or two - and it brings in revenue with cast and crew renting hotel rooms or whatever, then perhaps its a good thing to allow.

On the other hand, the Summer House show was denied based on the rental rules rather than treating ...moreit as a movie/TV shoot. I guess because the "cast" would actually be living in the house? But were they allowed to shoot last year or did they just violate the law and not ask about doing the shoot?

I believe EH Village does not allow any kind of TV/movie production from MD - Labor Day. I think the town should create the same rule.